Variety (November 1954)

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Wednesday, November 10, 1954 PW&l&fY LITERATI 69 Chi Trill Revives Oossip Col. The Chicago Tribune revived its Tower Ticker gossip column this week with Herb Lyon, former free- lance publicity man,. its conductor. Ticker Was launched originally in 1948 under the Jimmy Savage’s byline tout was dropped in 1952 a lew months after his death. Trih’s revival, makes it. again a fpur-way gossip sweepstakes among the quartet of local dailies, TV A .Room To PM Dailies? Television is proving a boon to evening newspapers, N.Y, Journal- American executive publisher John j\. Herbert said last week. Televi- sion, once the novelty factor wears off, increases circulation which in turn increases, advertising linage. .... Herbert: said Cunningham & Walsh’s latest “Videotown, U.S.A.” . study of viewing habits in. New. Bruswick, N.J.j points up the fact that families are readjusting their tv habits so as not to. give Up read- ing time and other interests. He said early-evening news shows and sports programs. stimulate interest in reading the stories in detail in the papers, and fact that the fam- ily watches tv in itself makes them turn to tv listings in. the paper. Herbert reported, that in N.Y! the total gain in ad linage for evening papers during the. past six months over the same period in 1953 has been 1,108,359 lines, including Sunday papers. Gotham’s morning papers, lie said, have lost 803,833 lines in the same period.. Pickfdrd, Garbo Bios. Mary Pickfprd’s autobiography, “Sunshine and Shadow,”; will have n introduction by Cecil B. De- Mille, when it’s published, at $5, . next February, by Dotibleday. John Bairibridge’s biog! of “Gar- bo” is also:, slated via Doubleday for March. It’s supposedly the first / “authorized’-’ bio. Baseball, comedian-restauranteur A1 Schacht’s autobiography “My Ovvn Particular Screwball” also will be published by Doutoleday next March. More Newspapermen’s Books Ex-N.Y.' Post columnist Samuel Grafton has written a novel, “A Most Contagious. Game,” set against a realistic N.Y. underworld locale. Doubleday to publish, Another newspaper gal, Pulitzer Prizewinner Marguerite Higgins, has done her memoirs, “News is a Singular Thing,’’ will be published in March by Doubleday. Another, newspaperman, Bob Considihe, has .written the saga of tii'e fire insurance 'industry titled .“Man Against Fire,” also for Doubleday publication. Reader’s. Digest Ads Decision to chrry advertising for thq first time in . its. 33-year history may cause some, changes in edito- rial procedure by the Reader’s Digest. Fact that it runs “reprints” from other magazines which com- pete for the advertising may cause more stress oh original pieces. Of course, the Digest for many years has been known to “plant” origi- nals in other mags,' reprinting them later and giving credit to the oilier publication. Digest, which has a circulation of 10,000,000. and has never carried, ads except in its international edi- tions,. said that increased publish- ing costs plus“the fact that it had tripled in size since its founding brought about the decision to Carry ads. Magazine otherwise would have been faced by a deficit, a Spokesman said. First edition: with, advertising is scheduled for April. Caught With Their Type Down Publishers and authors are un- derstandably enthusiastic about . getting a plug, for their, books, on radio-tv, but a temporary disad- vantage; seems to be accruing 1 to them , when -\ the exploitation is Premature.” Book housed of late have been making discreet inquir- ies of program producers, et al„ as 1° the when such plugs are due. -Keason is that in quite a number instances, a cuffo commercial a Current tome finds given bookstalls short on the plugged product. So the prospect is turned ^'av, perhaps never to become a hti.ver of the book in question. it’s known, for* instance, that a snow with a big impact on book sales is Ed Murrow’s “Person to Person” on CBS-TV (he’s had a number of authors on his . stanza ®r performers with ..a.- book they .Hist happened to write’’ and might have handy for showing on me, screen).' But with poor coor- mnaUon in having publishers and nook .distributors alerted to an up-: plu 8. a mention on the. ,;., r ’ ,0w show could easily go to "asie, since it’s a w-k. fact that a free commercial produces an ini: mediate desire to buy. (Walter Winchell has been known to hypo many a book, but in his case, too, there’s been many , an instance where a bookstore, has been caught with its type down.), A lot of noise was made last week on Steve Allen’s .‘‘Tonight” show (NB.C-TV) when Hy Gard- ner’s “Champagne Before Break- fast” (Henry Holt) was given a big play. But there was quite a twist attached. Dust, jacket of the book had a . pencilled statistic which Allen “just happened” to read off. It was a phone number—-Judsoh 6-3000. ^the switchboard at that number was jammed, immediately thereafter. It “just happened” to be the number of. the Astor Hotel, N. Y., where Gardner is cooped up. Last week also, a pre-sale hypo was undoubtedly given to “An Al- manac of Liberty,” by Supreme Court Justice William O, Doiiglas, via his person-rto-person on the Murrow show. Murrow avoided making any reference to the fact that a tv adaptation of the book, was upcoming “Studio One” Monday (8), coinciding with issu- ance by Doubleday. Murrow prob- ably- felt that “publication day” plug was more appropriate and left it. to the dramatic program of his ovvrt network to carry the ball. Trau f . N, Y. Times’ Pep Text Arthur Krock’s post-election col- umn i the N,., Y. Times went a bit show biz last week in a couple of particulars, : Subheads of Krock’s “In The Nation” pillar read, “A Good Man- date These Days Is Hard to. Find” and down the middle was a cross- ii “ ‘Apathy’ Went Thataway.” Norman Nadel’s Spieling : Norman Nadel, the ; theatre party-leading drama and music editor of the Columbus (O'.)- Citizen, , has been signed as a lecturer by the Lee Keedick. Agency. This is the second drama critic on the list of the Agency, John Mason Brown having been one of its star performers for years. Nadel, Who Will be given three Weeks’ leave of absence from the Citizen each spring and fall, will start his concentrated tours of U-, S, and Canada in 1955. The critic has filled about 70 speaking engagements in the Columbus area the last year and has 40 more on the books for the next nine months. Attwdod and Kerry Shifts .William Attwood, veteran for- eign correspondent and for the past three years Look’s European editor, is moving into , the N. Y. homeoffice as. a senior - writer and editor. He’ll be replaced in Europe by Edward M. Kerry, who’s resign- ing as United Press manager: for France to accept the post. Both newsmen have racked up some highly publicized beats. Attwood’s most recent was an in- terview with India’s Prime Minis- ter Nehru, Korry was!' the only press, service staffer to get into Budapest to cover the Cardinal Mindszenty trial. Kerry, incident-, ally, did a short stint with NBC before joining UP. Sigma Delta Chi’s Eihcees CBS President Frank Stanton will be the banquet; speaker for the 45th annual convention of Sigma Delta Chi which opens here tomorrow (10). More than 400 delegates representing 22,500 mem- bers in the professional journalism fraternity are expected for the •meet. Toastmasters for the various meal sessions include Earl. Wilson, N. Y, Post saloon scribe; Robert H. Ferger,: Cincinnati Enquirer publisher; and. Phillip W. Porter, ..Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday editor. ' Keynote speech will be delivered by John Cowles, Minneapolis Star. & Tribune president and publisher. Cartoonist Milton Caniff is also on the long list of speakers. Comics Harass . British Too Because the present laws on obscene libel,, under which a num- ber of publishers .have recently been prosecuted for indecent lit- erature do not apply the British Government is contemplating in- troduction of a bill to deal with horror comics, the majority of which are printed, locally from imported U. S. matrixes. Three major Britist publishers have bowed to public opinion, and have withdrawn from the comics, busi- ness, but many small concerns find it a . profitable, undertaking. While there has been genuine concern at th^ prosecution of rep- utable publishers, responsible pub- Kay Campbell gives a literati perspective on hew TV Has Displaced Fix Names in Slick Mags on interesting editorial, feature in the 49th Anhversary Number of P'A'RIETY lie .opinion is solidly in favor of restriction on imported comics., CHATTER Norman Lobsenz has taken over as editorial director Of See. Jack Balance profiled by Richard Hubler in the Nov. 13 Satevepost. Pines resuming publication of True Life Stories early in 1955. It. had been temporarily suspended I last August.. I Dr; Glenn S. Dumke, dean Of Occidental College, sold his first novel, “The Round City,” to Little,. Brown & CO. Doubleday is bringing out a boxed edition of T. E. Lawrence’s “The Mint,-” at $20 a copy, limited to 1,000 Copies. Somerset Maugham, now living > in the south of France; has accept- ed nomination as a candidate for Rectorial election of Edinburgh. Herbert R. Mayes, editor of Good Housekeeping, chairmaning the magazine division in this year's National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis campaign, Film Culture,, new. bi-monthly magazine devoted to the asthetic and so social aspects of the cinema, will appear Dec. 1. Jonas Mekas is editor and publisher; Morton E Grossman joined staff of TV Guide as . manager of ad- vertising promotion. Grossman resigned as promotion manager of the WOAI stations,. San : Antonio., to accept Philly post. John H, Montgomery has pub- lished, from. Camden, Maine, a $1 guide to the N. Y. restaurants titled “Menu.” It is carefully cross- indexed,. as to type of cuisine,, scale, tips on tipping, etc. Magnum Publications, which turns out the pocket-sized Celeb- rity and Our Life, has taken over TV Revue, from A; A. Wyn. New editor of the tv mag will be Ber- nard Seeman, who previously was editor of Show' Magazine. Helen Chappell White’s “This Is the Life,” based on the tv program of the same name, will be pub-, lished in January, by Doubleday: It’s sponsored toy the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the National Council of Churches.. William Willis, who sailed a raft across the Pacific, is slated to have his. first book published. It’s ten- tatively entitled “The Gods Were Kind.” E. P. Dutton is publishing sometime next-year oh a deal set by his brother-in-law, Charles V. Yates. A new publishing firm, Vulcan Press, is getting underway., in Birmingham. John ’ BOdette, for- mer New York editor, is in charge j of it. for Elton P. Stephens & As- sociates. First book off the presses is “Coach Tommy of the Crimson Tide,” by Naylor Stone, sports editor of the Birmingham Post- Herald. Firm has an outlet to PX’s arid Army installations over- seas through the Stephens com- pany. 'Comic’ Plot Reprise Woodstock. (N. Y.) Towns- man in an editorial blast , at “comic” books described the plots and content of a news- stand lulu; Quote; '< “A successful : bookmaker, gun in hapd and martini bal- anced on knee, is leaning per- ilously elds to a. hard-faced blonde Sphinx, who has little else on but a shiny object in her navel. Says the book-* maker, inspecting that shiny object ; in the navel, and in- specting the navel, too, While he’s about it: ‘Look, baby, why should you. pay .for your own meals? This little gat of mine, aimed at your husband’s guts, will put us on the. gravy train together.’ “In another section of the ‘comic strip,’ a buxom brun- ette, wearing a sweater of. such . limited proportions we gain the impresssidn that the wool market is due for an in- evitable collapse, is calmly stabbing her sister. to death. Seems they had had a slight altercation over a bottle of cologne presented to one of the ladies by a male friend.” 1 'SCULLY’S SCRAPBOOK 1 By Frank Scully tt , M »; Pal hi Springs. Palm Springs realizes it has lost the skirmish for the fast buck to Las Vegas and is now going to pitch for the tourist trade from another angie. It’s going to urge that the T.B.M. first come with his family, for a rest at Paim Springs, and then ,.fly. to Vegas for a fling. . That way he can go home broke and relate how he nearly made $50,000 till his luck at the tables turned against him. But if he goes to Vegas first, he won’t have anything left to pay his bills' while loafing iri the sun at Palm Springs; This switch puts the Village about back where it was when the late Nellie Coffman first discovered the unquestioned recuperating qualities of Palm Springs 40 years ago. A1V realize that the chances of winning'California legislators oyer to allowing Golden State resorts to" permit, visitors to’ gamble - are practically, nil. That means that the Dunes and all those private gambling spots which once flourished at Cathedral City are as dead as dinosaurii." A Horse of Another Distance Efforts to work the back door and institute a racing season have been watered down to quarter-horses, which is like offering a man'' dying of a wasting, disease an aspirin. Still, the Villagers are going ahead with It and have built a track for: the sprinting nags and will open it this winter. To interest those who prefer to gamble with their, bones instead of their money, the Villagers are pushing ain aerial; tramway from towri to the iriouritains to the west for skiers and toboggan addicts; All official and local opposition to this outlet , for lovers of winter sports :haye been eliminated and now the job is to get the millions necessary to complete. Atty, Gen. Pat Brown told villagers recently that the .state- parks will give every cooperation to resorts, in matters' like. this. Jeano Bailard, chairman of the chamber of commerce publicity com- mittee, held a prerseason seminar at Chi Cili’s and invited Alex Eve- love, who formerly was W^Ber’s top flack; Bill B*est, manager of the L A. UP; Lynn Spencer (Choliy Angeleno), of the L.A. Examiner, and Alan MacElwauu a former UP iriari and now publicity director of the All Year Club, to tell Villagers what, was wrong with th current publicity setup. The skull session, attracted about 100 people. Eveiove gave by far the best solution. He pointed out that it was human nature to forget proriiotional activity when, things: were going well , and there seemed no earthly reason- for spending the money. Hotels were turning them: away a few years ago but last season was n.s.g. Dat Debbie Up North Las Vegas proved the devastating competition.- Gambling provided the percentage for the house, Eveiove explained. “It made it possible to stage top show attractions and fine food and rooms at compara- tively low rates. These are advantages that are tough to beat. They mean an excitement that, regular business cannot offer in its com- petitive efforts. It also points up a paradox of a human nature which goes home broke but talks about, the bargains, in roorri and food rates.” But despite the lure of Las Vegas for those people who like that' kind of excitement, Eveiove pointed out there are millions who, for family reasons, do riot like .the idea of staying a whole season at Las Vegas. These, are the people who have been home-building like mad at Palm Springs. Around 3,500.000 people still come to Southern California each year. The task is to get them first,, when they are tired and need a rest, and then if they want some wilder forms of fun. point Out that there is plane service daily from Palm Springs to Las Vegas. In the old days the fight was between Florida arid Southern Cali- fornia for the tourist dollar. Now it is . more between the sort of people who go to Bermuda and the Bahamas and .who would like for a change to try the desert. Bermuda has plenty of water but Palm Springs is not lacking in this, as there is one swimming pool to every three persons but, alas, not a public pool iri the whole town. For this, visitors have to go to the Desert Hot Springs, 15 miles to the east. Newsmen Pay Off Better. Than Prez? Ike’s visit last season, gave the town carloads of publicity but Eve- love said a general and systematic catering to the press would in the erid do as well by the town. "The expenses .of hosting can be charged off to advertising expense and. will create powerful friends around the country.” He urged that eve'ryone who is in. touch with the public be given a course in public relations; “Did you know,” he asked, “that Beverly Hills has seminars for all its municipal employees in public relations?” The effect of this crack was immediate. A cop seeing an out-of-town, car overparked at a meter stand, put a note in the windshield remind- ing the. driver of this, oversight instead of handing him a ticket. Mayor subsequently got a letter of thanks from the guy -when lie got back to Minnesota. ‘‘Take the example of the Ford Motor. Co ,” Alex added as. a clincher. “It has made a tremendous surge upward when it put public relations to work.- Ford, it." secret, was slipping. Henry Ford at one time made many enemies for many reasons. With the ascension of Henry Ford 2d, however, a new concept came into the company. Itwas a .concept of getting, along with people . . The company retained a public, relations counsel arid in a few drastic moves eliminated its serious problem, It. began its . work of placing the company back in : the American consciousness: iri better Ways. , It. seems to have suc- ceeded, any Chevrolet, dealer ;can tell, you,” The general effect of Evelove’s pep talk was a terrific shot in th arm to those who want Palin Springs to be right up at the top where it used tp be. Everybody began immediately to spruce up the joint, pencil in all sorts of tournaments and.otherwise hang.out the^ welcome sigh for tourists; Chi Chi's didn’t wait till the season got rolling to bring in top acts; It wooed Tommy Noorian, fresh.from his triumph in “A Star Is Born,” to head a pre-seaSon bill, which also featured Pobahantas, his Irish- Cherokee wfife. Some Disenchanted Evenings Chi .Chi management dropped $400,000 in six years by bringing in acts like Nelson; Eddy ($4,000) and Sophie ‘Tucker ($5,000), which were too high for. the niiery’s very limited capacity. But they feel the losses paid off in prestige arid, other ways. As proof that.they “do not intend to mend their ways, they , are after top acts riot. Only for Palm Springs but. a new nitery they have opened at 29 Palms, a Spot 50 miles further into the sand dunes. The Strebes, who own The Doll House as welt as the Village, , picture house, threw an October patty usually reserved i such gran- diose terms for mid-season. When the Sun-Air hooked “The Egyptian” into the outdoprer while it was still in its first run at Grauman- Chinese, Strebe, not to be outdone, booked Metro’s super-sleeper, “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” as opposition; Both did well. The town looks good and has every right to feel that last season was its worst and there is no way now to go but up;